Fire-escape



(No Model.)

D. WILKINS.

FIRE ESUAPE. No. 307,889. Patented Nov. 11, 1 884.

j'gd

ywyagw N. PETERS. Phnlo-Limograyhar. Wilhiniinfl. D. C.

UNITE arren,

FIRE-=ESCAPE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 307,889, dated November 11, 1884.

' .Application filed July 28, i884.

(No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DANIEL VVILKINS, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, and a citizen of the United States, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fire Escapes, of which the following is a full description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a front elevation of a building having my improvements applied thereto, and

Fig. 2 a partial side elevation showing the front end of the building.

The object of my improved apparatus is to afford access to the entire front, rear, or side of any building to which it may be applied, for the purpose of saving life or property in case of fire, and for the purpose of repairing, cleaning, painting the building, or washing windows at other times, and its nature con sists in combinations and arrangement of parts, as hereinafter set forth and claimed as new.

In the drawings, A indicates the movable box or basket, a, the central rope, I) c, the side ropes; (l, the guide-rope; c, the ropes or rods for suspending the basket;f, ring for connecting the main ropes with the basket ropes or rods; 9, belaying-pins or cleats for securing the lower ends of the side ropes; h, a central sheave or pulley, and iside sheaves or pulleys. Y

My apparatus may be applied to buildings of any size or height; but it is more particularly designed to be used with buildings which are over two stories in height,and for buildings under twenty-five feet in width the central rope, (I, may be omitted, and for buildings of any considerable width beyond fifty feet I recommend a duplication of the apparatus, rather than spreading it to a great width, and it is evident that in many situations it may be applied to the rear or sides of buildings, as well as to their fronts, or instead of the front, where it is to be used as a fire-escape only. The several ropes or cables will usually be made of wire-rope, and the sheaves or pulleys of iron. The central sheave, 71, is projected out sufficiently far to clear the basket from the building, and is located high from the wall far enough to permit the free action of the basket. The manner of attaching these sheaves or pulleys will depend somewhat upon the building, and in applying my improvements to old buildings extra appliances for supporting the sheavesmay be required.

The belaying-pins or cleats g are of ordinary construction, and arethe simplest devices for securingthe lower ends of the ropes, and they may be placed at a point higher than that shown; or, instead of these devices, windlasses with ratchets or detents may be used,and in either case they should be housed for protection against the weather and against being tampered or played with.

The basket A may be made of iron or Wood covered with asbestus or other non-inflammable material, and the ropes may be so protected, if desired. For an ordinary basket one four feet in length and depth and two feet wide will be sufficient; but these dimensions may be varied. A sufficient number of ropes e are attached to the basket and connected with the ring f to hold the basket in an upright position, and the upper ends of the ropes a b c are also connected with the ring f, and the roped may be connected with the same ring or directly to the basket. The lower ends of the ropes a (Z may be left unattached, or they may be connected with rings fastened to the sidewalk or curb; or a windlass may be used in connection with the rope a.

In operation the basket A is pulled from the roof bytlie rope a, when it becomes sus pended by the ropes b c, or partly by them and the rope. a, and by pulling one side rope and slacking the other the basket may be brought to any window of the building, and then it can be made to descend or ascend in the line of any tier of windows; or it may be carried away from such line to avoid flame or other obstruction, and by proper manipulation the basket may be moved horizontally along the line of each row of windows, and for vertical movements. Then the basket is to be operated vertically at either side of the central rope, the movements may be made by the nearest side rope and the central rope by freeing the other side rope. It will thus be seen that any part of the building may be easily and safely reached for any of the purposes hereinbefore named, and that by the use of the rope a persons may be taken from the roof as well as from the windows.

The apparatus may also be used for elevating or lowering ladders, hose, or firemen, and when used for other purposes than at fires the basket may be made much longer than in the form shown, or in the form of a scaffold, in

which form the ropes will be attached thereto passed over suit-able supports to move the basket from side to side, and arope,a, secured to said basket and passed over a support above the same, substantially as described.

3. The combination of the basket A, a rope, a, secured thereto, and a sheave, h, supported above the roof of a building, and having said rope passed over the same, so as to lift the basket up onto the roof and remove it therefrom, substantially as described.

4. The combination of the basket A, the ropes and a, fixedly secured thereto, sheaves L on opposite sides of said basket and carrying said ropes, a sheave, 71/, supported above the roof of a building, and a rope, (6, passed over said sheave and attached to said basket, substantially as described.

DANIEL \VILKINS.

\Vitnesses:

ALBERT H. ADAMS, HARRY T. JONES. 

